Freda Wellington, a 66-year-old pensioner, has revealed how difficult it has been sleeping on a friend’s sofa since she was served a no-fault eviction notice, which left her homeless. Wellington lived in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, but was served an eviction notice in March 2021. She had lived in her Great Yarmouth home, which was a one-bedroom property, for nine years after a relationship breakdown. However, the landlord issued her with the notice after he said he wanted to increase her rent by £50 per month and she asked if she could renegotiate.
After being served the eviction notice, Wellington was forced out of the property and stayed in a hotel paid for by the council before being left to sleep on a friend’s sofa. She describes her relief at being able to simply clean her clothes for the first time in six weeks, saying she is “a very clean person” and the experience had been hard. She is grateful to have somewhere to stay, but said that she had been “tossing and turning” and staying awake most of the night on the sofa.
According to research conducted by Shelter, 400,000 older renters in England live in fear of being evicted by their landlord, and private renters over the age of 55 are hit with a no-fault eviction notice every 16 minutes. Polly Neate, the chief executive of Shelter, said that pensioners are “living with the constant fear of homelessness hanging over them” instead of being able to enjoy retirement.
The government pledged to abolish no-fault evictions before the general election, but this did not become law before the dissolution of Parliament on 30 May. As a result, Shelter is calling for the next government to reform the private rented sector. The homeless charity believes the current system unfairly favours landlords over tenants and wants greater regulation to make the sector more secure for vulnerable renters such as pensioners.
Despite being offered accommodation by Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Wellington refused it as she believed it was not suitable for her health issues. The council spokesperson said they have a legal obligation to find suitable accommodation for homeless individuals, and will always consider medical requirements when making an offer. Meanwhile, in Great Yarmouth, there are currently 956 households on the waiting list for social housing in the borough and a further 902 new requests that need to be assessed
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